


Coming Home

by CassieIngaben



Series: Pretentious Pros(e) [2]
Category: The Professionals (TV 1977)
Genre: Experimental Style, M/M, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-10
Updated: 2020-07-10
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:34:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,160
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25187251
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CassieIngaben/pseuds/CassieIngaben
Summary: and he really looks at him all soft like almost a different person
Relationships: William Bodie/Ray Doyle
Series: Pretentious Pros(e) [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1824613
Comments: 8
Kudos: 14





	Coming Home

**Author's Note:**

> This story dates back from 2002. I was feeling literary and pretentious so I decided to write an interior monologue from the perspective of the owner of the laundry shop where Doyle left his clothes before being shot in the episode "Discovered in a Graveyard". Reading it now, the story kinda makes no sense without an explanation (bad sign).

_yes the weather's been so nice this whole week oh wish I could take a few days off like when my poor Albert was with still with us God bless him seen as my bad back's always acting up and go to the seaside the boys were always running up and down the pier and asking for ice-cream and the sun was really lovely_

"Yes Mrs Riordan, it's two jackets and a skirt, ready next Wednesday."

_and Albert used to say I was a bonnie lass and I laughed and said don't you start now oh I miss those days and the neighburhood was so much better then family wives bringing their husbands' good suits and the carpets once a year and that old gentleman whathisname we did his shirts and how he blushed when he brought his smalls and the sheets no reason though he was so proper bet he never had a wife poor him with that blind eye_

"Yes sir, two pounds for that—no, you have to pay in advance, yes."

_of course when Albert was with us we made people pay on retrieval but those were different days and nobody dared take advantage then ah Mr Stack that was the gentlemans name I can still see it when I stitched labels on his shirts and of course he insisted to pay in advance too such a nice man oh my goodness look who's here now it's been ages_

"Hallo, love. You know how long it's been?"

_and he's always the same hair too long if a son of mine was going around with that mop but well how do I know they aren't damn oil rig so faraway_

"Take care of your bag, I'm going to have to charge you rent."

_and high time it was I was going to send it to charity surely I remember his mate now he came last fortnight and asked for it and not very nice about it either arrogant young man and the my mate's not well story as if I hadn't heard it before and the laundry not bad stuff at all if you like this modern fashion of course I couldn't give it away_

"It's the rules. Can't give away my customer's gear without the ticket."

_yes when poor Albert was here we had no such ridiculous thing them tickets they were all our customers and we knew them by heart and their families and all_

"I know you. I don't know him."

_not that this one has a family seen him around with lots of girls always a different one that's not good really but that's the way it is those days and anyway he seems a good sort if a bit sloppy his laundry I mean sometimes a real disgrace well at least those girls won't be getting in trouble if it's on the sheets it's not somewhere else now that I think of it I haven't seen girls in a while even before he disappeared and he really still looks unwell if his friend was right must've been very sick poor lamb has this haunted look like Albert in hospital he said he hated it and looked around like he knew_

"Been away, have you, love?"

_not that's really any business of mine but he should've someone to make him eat a bit more he's all skin and his mate seems to think the same the way he looks at him but really I don't like how he looks at me now not like I'm doing anything wrong to be nice even if it's really not my business I'm happy he's back and not just as a client and now I think I remember the other one I was darning something and it was winter and they came in but it was a while ago and they were upset or at least the other one was upset at him or they had a quarrel and he had that nasty look but now the nasty look's gone except for a moment when I asked and he really looks at him all soft like almost a different person no wonder I didn't recognise him when he came and asked about the laundry nasty as the first time must be very good friends_

"Glad to be back?"

_And yes but the other one's sweet when he wants and gets the bag for him like my poor Albert when I was heavy with the boys or when he knew my back ached he never let me carry any weights and he hauled all those big bags himself and all his time we didn't know his poor heart was the way it was and of course those days men don't carry things for women or open doors neither but this big nasty one here is carrying his bag and fretting about him too just like Mr Powell he was always so polite and I don't care what they say that he was one of those them unnatural he was sweet and all of twenty years he never did anything without Mr Lanner once the boys called him names but I made them wash their mouths with soap poor Mr Powell wonder what's happened to him and isn't it strange now these two here make me think of him such a slip of a man he was and fair haired but well_

"Bye, love."

_it is a bit strange I should think of Mr Powell now except his sheets were a disgrace too and Albert got upset once and grumbled those damn poofs expect us take care of their disgusting and he wanted to throw the whole bag away but then he didn't and he wasn't rude to him or anything but he always let me deal with him after that and I wanted to tell Albert see now what's the harm when they come here together Mr Powell is always so nice and polite and Mr Lanner looks at him like he's found a treasure like you used to look at me when we were up North and you visited me and bought me chocolates and bless him my poor Albert sometimes he was too busy and worried about money to remember but he did remember sometimes when we went to the beach like and we ate our ice-creams and he always asked for a flake for mine and said I loved chocolate because it was the food of gods that's what they call it in the Americas and I said go away with your stories and maybe if really Mr Doyle were like Mr Powell then I hope that his friend is like Mr Lanner and makes him feel better poor lamb looks like he came back from the dead hope he feeds him something good wonder if he likes chocolate the food of gods what a silly thing to say oh Lord how I miss Albert_


End file.
